There was a time when designing a website or getting some kind of traction on the internet required the hiring of an office and some very serious resource allocation (read: money). Ultimately, a website meant you were a serious business and online presence meant you paid top dollar. With the advent of Weblogs however, the power shifted from the hands of the few into the hands of the many. Of course this is not to say that overnight your grandmother was able to create a website and start building some form of genuine online influence, but the power changed hands.

Fast forward to the 21st century and suddenly having a website is a prerequisite. As a photographer it is not enough to have clients that put your photography out there for you, you need your own facebook page or website to have your portfolio. I have never once been asked for a portfolio directly. Often times, I am only asked for my facebook page URL or website as nonchlantly as possible, if at all.

With this added amount of power has come a new kind of smog to filter through. Just as the rise of vehicular power brought about the haze of smog and pollution, so has the rise of the personal site brought about the “Personal Brand” problem. Simply put, it is no longer viable for a person to have one email, one Twitter account, or even one Facebook page. Suddenly, every photographer has a personal page and a Facebook “Business” page in which they split their photos between the pages. This redundancy has become almost commonplace as people work to simply be seen over the multitude of other people.

The explosion of personal sites and “Brands” has helped employers however as their choices for potential photographers has increased. Furthermore, it has put the complacent people on their toes. The days of securing a contract and slacking are long gone as any person in your town with better work now has the tools to post and tag venues while gathering attention. I personally feel that this has created some tension in the industry as photographers and artists have become more territorial. Fights aside though, the scene has never been as active as it is now with artists both old and new suddenly jostling for position at all times.